event our foremast and bowsprit are sad wrecks."

The portions of the ship he referred to were, indeed, badly damaged.
The shrouds supporting the foremast had been ripped out by the berg on
the port or left hand side of the vessel, and her jibboom had been
snapped off short where the berg struck her. Two boats had, besides,
been broken and the paint scraped off the polar ship's sides.

"We look like a wreck," exclaimed Billy.

"We may think ourselves lucky we got off so easily," said Captain
Barrington, "we have just gone through the deadliest peril an
antarctic ship can undergo."

The Brutus now came gliding up, and after congratulations had been
exchanged between the two ships, a new hawser was rigged and the
Southern Cross was once more taken in tow.

"I don't want any more encounters with icebergs," said Billy, as the
ship proceeded toward her goal once more.

"Nor I," spoke the others.

"It's a pity this isn't at the north pole," said the professor, who
was varnishing dried fish in the cabin, where this conversation took
place.

"Why?" asked Frank.

"Because, if it had been, there might have been a polar bear on that